Chapter 108: The Art of Food Pairing

While the two weren't paying attention, Field gently held QiQi's small hand, caressing it lightly. QiQi's hand was indeed very small, soft, and delicate.

"Field, do you like Hilda, meow?" QiQi sat on Field's shoulder, holding his large hand with one hand and wrapping her other arm around his neck, whispering softly into his ear.

"Yes, I do," Field nodded. "Do you like her?"

"I do too. She gives me treats to eat, meow~" QiQi smiled sweetly.

"Then, when we bring her home, you'll have treats every day," Field grinned mischievously.

QiQi's ears twitched with excitement. "Okay, meow!"

"Field, after we bring her home, will you still play with me like a little kitten, meow?"

"Of course."

"Hehe~" QiQi giggled happily, then leaned down and planted a kiss on Field's forehead while Hilda and Brittany were chatting. Field enjoyed it, and his large hand became playful, rubbing QiQi's small hand and gently playing with her tail.

The unusual sensation from QiQi's small hand and tail made her blush slightly, and she twisted her slender waist shyly. Unable to resist, she hopped down from Field's shoulder and crawled onto his back, then opened her mouth and gently nibbled on Field's earlobe, her soft voice whispering into his ear.

"Field~"

"Tonight, I want to play with the feather wand, meow~"

Field felt ticklish and chuckled, "Alright."

"I also want some milk, meow~"

"Sure, as you wish."

"Hehe, Field is so nice, meow~"

Meanwhile, on a tall building in the distance, with a crisp sound, the sharp pole on the rooftop was broken by Ma Si directly.

"Field, oh Field, you've got guts, daring to do this behind Miss's back..."

"Calm down... calm down... can't interfere..."

"Damn it, I have to go rob another five hundred thousand..."

...

Soon, they arrived at the restaurant, a high-end establishment. They got a private room, and when the waiter handed them the menu, Field took a look.

Each dish cost at least hundreds of gold coins, with some even reaching thousands. Field even spotted Earth Dragon meat on the menu. Earth Dragon meat was a rare delicacy, with a stewed dish costing thirteen thousand eight hundred gold coins!

Field's mouth watered as he called the waiter over and pointed at the menu. "This Furuo cauliflower, fried elephant clam, three-color stew..."

Field pointed at six dishes. Seeing this, Brittany smirked.

This wouldn't be enough. She was planning to fleece Field properly, so she had to order some expensive dishes herself.

But the next moment, Field said, "Besides these six, one of each of the other dishes, please."

Brittany: "..."

Even Hilda was slightly surprised. "Isn't this too much?"

There were forty-five dishes on the menu, subtracting the six Field didn't want left thirty-nine. If you calculated, this meal would probably cost tens of thousands!

Even Brittany was dumbfounded. Despite her proud creations selling for fifteen thousand each, it took her two months to make one, as they were handmade.

She had planned to order a few more dishes to make Field spend an extra ten or twenty thousand gold, but Field ordered them himself without any hesitation.

"Too much? No way, I have a big appetite," Field laughed. "Do you want anything else? I see desserts here, and I haven't ordered any."

"If you want to eat, feel free to order. Today, I'm happy, no need to save money for me!"

He still had that five hundred thousand in his pocket, and he felt like it wasn't right to keep holding onto it. Until he spent it, he wouldn't have the motivation to work. So, to motivate himself, Field decided on a small goal—spend all that money tonight!

Yes, he was that disciplined.

Hilda couldn't help but chuckle. "We won't be able to finish all these dishes. Do we really need to order desserts?"

"Really not eating?" Field said. "Then I'll have them."

"Please bring us all those desserts again, and also a bottle of Vitesburg rum and a bottle of Rinlan Cow's milk for this lovely Miss Qi Qi."

"Of course, sir!" the waiter promptly replied.

Brittany swallowed hard. Well, now she couldn't spend less than two hundred thousand for this meal. Even though she came from a noble family herself, a meal costing two hundred thousand was definitely extravagant.

But Hilda didn't think much of it. After the initial surprise, she calmed down. Although a meal costing two hundred thousand seemed excessive, she didn't find it remarkable. Her family was not comparable to Brittany's, and she had seen even more luxurious things. 

What she truly admired was that Field was spending his own hard-earned money. Therefore, no matter how extravagant he was, it was justified. He had the ability to support it all. And that's what she most wanted to achieve at the moment. She didn't want to rely on her family; she wanted to be like Field, truly relying on herself and her abilities to earn everything.

This meal was quite enjoyable, and Hilda and Brittany finally witnessed Field's so-called enormous appetite. It wasn't a joke; Field ate three lamb legs, each longer than his forearm, all by himself. The key was that this guy knew how to eat.

"After digging out the marrow and spreading it on the bread, then adding a piece of pan-fried foie gras, some crispy lamb skin, and a little butter, sprinkle with rose salt and minced garlic..." Field said as he made a special sandwich, then took a bite with a blissful expression on his face.

"It looks really good..." Hilda licked her lips and immediately said, "I want to try!"

"But don't you usually avoid eating offal?" Brittany was surprised.

"But it looks really delicious," Hilda giggled, then followed Field's example and made a sandwich for herself, taking a bite.

"It's really delicious!" Hilda covered her mouth, cheeks puffed out, and mumbled unclearly.

Her cute appearance made Brittany unable to help but smile. Normally, Hilda ate elegantly, but only when she was with friends did she reveal her true self.

Elegance was nice, but it was too tiring. It was much more comfortable to eat and speak freely.

"Brittany, you should try it too, it's really delicious!" Hilda offered Brittany a bite of the sandwich she had taken.

Brittany hesitated. Normally, Hilda didn't eat offal because of her control over her diet, but Brittany herself genuinely disliked offal; she found it a bit gross. Many nobles felt the same.

However, she then noticed Field looking eager to see her reaction. She glanced at the sandwich Hilda had bitten into and understood instantly.

Without further ado, she gave Field a sharp look, then opened her mouth and took a bite near where Hilda had just bitten.

Surprisingly, it tasted really good, not as disgusting as she had imagined. She chewed contentedly, then provocatively lifted her chin at Field.

Field raised an eyebrow slightly, then picked up a milk ice cream and said, "Then, pairing sweet with savory also tastes great. For example, these wave-cut thick fries dipped in ice cream, tastes top-notch!"

"Really? Let me try!" Hilda eagerly said and gave it a taste.

"It's true! The sweet and savory flavor combination is so unique!" Hilda exclaimed as if she had discovered a new world. Then she smiled and said, "Field, it's such a pity that you're not a gourmet. You have such a talent for eating."

"Haha, then I'm a mercenary gourmet," Field chuckled.

The reason why he was so good at eating... was probably because there wasn't much good food in the wasteland, so he had to make the mediocre taste a little better by combining them. Over time, he developed this skill.

Of course, it might also be because his grandpa's cooking was a bit hard to swallow. If he didn't have some skill in this area, he might have lost his sense of taste before he turned fourteen.

Watching Field and Hilda chatting happily again, Brittany felt a bit sour. She wanted to change the subject, not continue this topic, lest Field come up with some new tricks and make Hilda laugh again. This development wasn't very good; no one had made Hilda laugh so frequently before. In Brittany's perception, Field was the first.

So Brittany thought for a moment and then said to Field, "Field, I heard from Hilda that you're developing in Haidu?"

"Yes, Haidu is where my mercenary career began," Field nodded. "Even though I am now officially a foreign agent of Heidis, my focus is still on Haidu."

"I have a feeling that there are still many interesting and crazy things waiting for me to explore and discover in that city."

Hearing this, Hilda, dipping fries in ice cream, propped her chin and listened to Field talk, seeming very interested.

Brittany glanced at her and then continued, "Have you explored my clothing store?"

"You have a clothing store in Haidu?" Field was startled, then remembered something and said, "You mean... Brittany's Clothing Store?"

"Yes." Brittany smiled, a hint of cunning in her smile, then said, "I heard from my staff that a big guy bought two sets of dresses from me. They were my masterpieces."

"Ah, I see. Looks like my eye for fashion is not bad," Field laughed.

Brittany also felt proud and said, "Indeed, it took me half a year to complete those two dresses. But... one of them you gave to Hilda. What about the other one?"

"Isn't it given to another girl?" Field's heart skipped a beat.

Damn, was she guessing so accurately? Was this the sixth sense of women?

And Hilda, dipping fries in ice cream, paused for a moment.

Fortunately, Field reacted quickly, nodding calmly, "Yes."

Brittany was stunned.

So was Hilda.

Even QiQi beside them was stunned.

He... admitted it?!

At that moment, Hilda didn't know why, but she suddenly felt the thick fries dipped in ice cream were really delicious.

Brittany, on the other hand, raised her eyebrows.

But before she could question further, Field smiled and said, "I gave it to Angel."

With that, he reached out his hand, and the Angel's Heavy Hammer appeared in his hand, gleaming.

"How about it, isn't she beautiful?" Field smirked.

"This is my favorite hammer!"

Suddenly, Hilda felt the fries dipped in ice cream were really delicious again.

And Brittany looked puzzled. "You gave the dress... to a hammer?"

"Yes," Field nodded with a smile.

"Your dress is really nice. After I disassembled it, I quickly designed a perfect set of women's light armor."

"Excellent work done by Angel. That's the gift I gave her."

"You really disassembled my dress?!" Brittany raised her eyebrows, a little excited.

At this moment, Hilda pulled her back gently and whispered, "Brittany, we agreed not to get angry, remember?"

Brittany deflated a bit. Even though she had agreed not to get angry, she couldn't help but feel a little irritated when Field admitted to dismantling her dress.

"Alright, I won't argue with you this time because of Hilda. But if you dare to buy my dresses to dismantle them again, I guarantee that no Brittany's Clothing Store will ever serve you again!" Brittany said angrily.

Field quickly waved his hand, "Okay, okay, I promise there won't be a next time."

Seeing Field give in, Brittany's expression improved slightly.

"By the way, why did you choose to open a clothing store in Haidu instead of the more bustling Grilac City?" Field asked.

"Whenever this topic comes up, I get angry," Brittany sighed, shaking her head. "Originally, I did want to open the store in Grilac City, but there's a conflict between the Merchant Guild there and my family."

"They've already monopolized the market in Grilac City, and I'm an outsider. I can't compete with them here."

"If I were to force open a store, I would soon be forced out of business by them..."

"Ah?" Even Hilda

 was stunned. She said, "Brittany, why didn't you tell me? I could have helped you."

"I know you could, but I don't want to rely on you. This is my dream, how can I let you handle all the obstacles for me?" Brittany smiled gently.

"But we're friends, aren't we?" Hilda said seriously. "It's natural for friends to help each other!"

At Hilda's words, Brittany felt moved and then gently pinched Hilda's cheek, saying.

"It's precisely because of this that I don't want to rely on you."

"That Merchant Guild is quite powerful. My family has been at odds with them for many years. You might not be afraid of them, but it's not easy to shake them with your own strength. Instead, it might bring you a lot of trouble."

"You're already facing challenges on your own just by coming here. I don't want to burden you further."

"Hilda..." Hilda looked at Brittany with emotion, and Brittany smiled gently, "That's why I can handle it myself."

"That's right," Field's voice came, "But you should know that seeking external assistance is also a reflection of your own abilities."

Brittany looked at Field, somewhat puzzled by his words.

The next moment, Field chuckled, "Remember, I'm a mercenary. As long as you give me a commission, I can handle any problem for you!"